


some great reward

by cheinsaw



Series: fate week pieces [3]
Category: Fate/Grand Order
Genre: F/F, Mutual Pining, Not Canon Compliant, this is not how it works but it's soft lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:34:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28709007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheinsaw/pseuds/cheinsaw
Summary: What If You Could Grail Mash? This Senpai Shows How In One Easy Step **NOT CLICKBAIT**fate week day three - "grail"
Relationships: Fujimaru Ritsuka/Mash Kyrielight | Shielder
Series: fate week pieces [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2106921
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50
Collections: Fate Week 2021 Fic Collection





	some great reward

**Author's Note:**

> I HAD TO DELETE AND REUPLOAD THIS AND IF YOU SAW THAT I'M VERY SORRY.

It always feels special, touching a Holy Grail. It's her job to collect and safely store them, yes, but Mash is always struck by how precious it feels in her hands. A sturdy golden cup, timeless and beautiful. Brimming with magical energy and a power all its own. It's an honor, holding one.

"What do we do with it?" Mash asked, the first time.

"Bring it to Dr. Roman and da Vinci, I guess," Ritsuka had said, and shrugged as the Singularity collapsed softly around them. Ritsuka was still scared then, and Mash still unsteady. Both of them so young, up against the end of the world.

Again and again they go through this—visiting Singularities, large and small, and recovering fragmented Grails as they set things right. Human history will mend, with their help. Mash fights, and falls down, and gets back up, and finds herself breathless at the thought of Ritsuka. Master. Senpai. She's wonderful. She's really, truly something.

Mash gives the recovered Grails to da Vinci each time they return from Rayshifting, but she has to wonder where they go. She's always been curious; that kind of thing comes with being stuck inside for nearly seventeen years. Da Vinci and Roman are surely holding them somewhere safe. But when she wonders out loud about it, Ritsuka's answer surprises her.

"I actually… I have them," she says, smiling like she's guilty of something. "They're just in my room under my bed. Nobody will think to look there!" She laughs, and Mash's heart flutters. (More than once, Mash drifts off to sleep thinking of five, six, seven golden cups lined in a row.)

Chaldea becomes ever more lively as Ritsuka summons more and more Servants. Japanese warriors, Greek gods, ancient Romans. Celtic, Indian, American myths, Rulers and Avengers and Alter Egos. Each one of them loves Ritsuka just like Mash does, each of them bound to humanity's last Master. Yet even with so many bodies filling the spaces in Chaldea, Ritsuka still finds time for Mash. "Well, yeah. I only have one kouhai," she says, when Mash points it out as they're resting together after training. (The temperature in the room is suddenly a lot warmer.)

Mash visits Ritsuka in her room frequently enough, but it still feels like an intrusion sometimes. Hesitant, uneasy, Mash knocks as gently as she can at the doorway. "Senpai?" she calls out. "I'm coming in."

"Come in!" Ritsuka responds. She's sitting on the floor by her bed (unmade, Mash notices, and kind of wants to tidy it for her). In her lap is a Holy Grail; two more are set out before her. "Hey, Mash. What's up?"

"I was just coming to check on you, and see if you'd like to have dinner together. Boudica is making chicken and dumplings. It seems like a very nice comfort food." Mash can't help but smile, excited at the prospect of such an indulgent home-cooked meal. "But, um, Senpai, what are you doing…?"

"Oh, yeah, I'd love to! I'm just sort of…" Ritsuka gestures. "Thinking about what to do with these."

"Oh," Mash says. "Have you asked the Doctor or da Vinci?"

"I have. Da Vinci told me to just give them to the Servants I like most, as a symbol of our bond or something, but…" She shakes her head, laughing to herself. "I don't know. If that's the case, then… I really just want to give them to you."

Mash can feel the blood rush to her face. "Oh… Senpai, you really don't have to—!"

Ritsuka places one of the Grails into Mash's hands, smiling warmly. "No, I want to. Here you go, Mash."

What can she do but accept it? "O-oh, if you're sure… Thank you very much, Senpai! I'll be sure to treasure it!"

In her hands, the Grail begins to pulse with a soft power. Mash can feel it prompting her to make a wish, gentle and comforting. It feels right. Natural. _I want_ … she thinks to herself, and the Grail nudges her forward. _I want to be with Senpai forever, or as long as we possibly can._

The Grail glows hot under Mash's fingertips, then dissipates into golden dust. Somehow, it feels like it's _part_ of her now, patching into the Demi-Servant Spirit Origin that lives in her soul. Something whole, something holy.

"Oh," Mash says again. "I didn't know it would…"

"It's okay!" Ritsuka says. "It's yours, I told you. To be honest, I kinda thought that would happen."

That's her Senpai: ever-kind, adapting to new situations in the blink of an eye. Mash can't stop herself from smiling, even as her face heats up more. "Thank you, Senpai. It truly is an honor."

"No problem, Mash! So, um… what do you say about maybe taking another one?"

Mash would be _delighted_ to.


End file.
